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Do Not Be Afraid

“Say to those who are of a fearful heart, "Be strong, do not fear! Here is your God.” - from Isaiah 35:4

Anytime a person tells us to not be afraid, we usually have very good reason to be afraid. And there are so many things to fear.

Some of us fear for ourselves and our families, that we will not have enough money to keep a roof over our heads, food on the table and clothes on our back.

We fear that we or someone we love will get caught up in the chaos and confusion, violence and bloodshed, injustice and oppression, addiction and distraction.

We fear that we will always remain stuck where we are, and that things will never get better and we will never get better. We fear we will never become what we might have been.

The hope of Advent does not deny any of this realities or threats. It instead reminds us that God is with us. It invites us to trust that God is seeing through. So, we can put away our fear.

Dear God, help us to put aside our fear and to be strong in you.

I’m Horace McMillon. This is 60 Seconds of Hope. Peace be with you.

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Our Lives Shall Blossom

“The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad; the desert shall rejoice and blossom; like the crocus” - Isaiah 35:1

Oh things are hard, but we are not without hope. The struggle has gone on for a long time, but it won’t go on forever.

The prophetic words of hope and encouragement, spoken by Isaiah to the beleaguered community in exile, were not empty. They sustained the people until they were one day proven true.

These words continue to speak across the generations in this and every advent season, to anyone who finds themselves living in exile from the peace and wellbeing God desires them to have.

These words speak to us. We may live in a harsh wilderness, but just know that one day our lives shall blossom. Never surrender hope.

Dear God, fill our hearts with the stubborn, relentless, audacious hope to persevere until your words come to pass. Amen.

I’m Horace McMillon. This is 60 Seconds of Hope. Peace be with you.

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None Of Us Are Chaff

“His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and will gather his wheat into the granary, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.” - Matthew 3:12

When speaking of God’s unfailing love, I’m often asked about God’s wrath. Sometimes a verse such as the one we just read will be cited as a purported example that God’s love has its limits.

This question comes from the faulty premise that some of us wheat and some of us are chaff. We couldn’t be more wrong about that. We are all children of the most high God, hand made masterpieces of the creator, sustained by God’s very breath.

Chaff represents anything that keeps us from being our best, brightest, fullest, most whole selves. Be it systems and structures, poor mindsets and bad attitudes, faulty assumptions and thinking, this is the chaff God will winnow away. None of us are chaff.

Dear God, help us remember this. Amen.

I’m Horace McMillon. This is 60 Seconds of Hope. Peace be with you.

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The Baptism Of Fire And Spirit

“He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.” - from Matthew 3:11

The baptism of fire and spirit is not a judgement or punishment, but instead refines us into our best selves.

The baptism of fire and spirit warms our hearts and sustains our lives during our cold winters of hopelessness and despair.

The baptism of fire and spirit burns away divisions of race, nationality, ethnicity, social class, economic status and gender identities allowing us to hear and understand each other clearly.

The baptism of fire and spirit breaks into our mundane and ordinary lives and gives us clarity of purpose and direction just as Moses received from the burning bush.

The baptism of water represents our turning and reaching out to God. The baptism of fire and spirit represents God reaching back out to us.

Come Holy Spirit. Bring your baptism of fire and spirit into our lives. Amen.

I’m Horace McMillon. This is 60 Seconds of Hope. Peace be with you.

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It’s Not About Our Religion (Advent 11)

“…Do not presume to say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our ancestor.” - from Matthew 3:9

One of the great mistakes or fallacies we can fall into is to presume that our religions make us superior to others and/or pleasing to God.

The quality of the tree is not determined by the name of the orchard it’s planted in. The quality of the tree is determined by the fruit the it produces.

A true rooted and grounded in love is a a healthy tree capable of producing good fruit. Branches connected to the vine of God’s love will bear good fruit.

A tree that is not rooted and grounded will not produce good fruit. Branches disconnected from the vine will eventually wither away.

It’s not about the religion we claim. It’s about the fruit we yield. Good fruit is only produced in and through love.

I’m Horace McMillon. This is 60 Seconds of Hope. Peace be with you.

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Remember Who You Are (Advent 10)

“Therefore, bear fruit worthy of repentance.” - Matthew 3:8

Some of us grew up with the exhortation to “remember who you are” or “remember where you came from”. Some of our families demanded that we bring honor to the family by being of high character and walking in the world with dignity and respect.

As I read this verse, I hear the gospel writer challenging the audience to remember who they are, remember who they have been called to be, remember who they claimed to be. With this in mind they and we are encouraged to bear fruit worthy of our repentance.

What are those fruits? The Apostle Paul eloquently describes nine. Our lives should be filled with love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

In times when we are tempted to give into our anger and fear, bitterness and hate, greed and lust - we are to remember that these are not worthy of us. We are called to remember who we are.

I’m Horace McMillon. This is 60 Seconds of Hope. Peace be with you.

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Acknowledge, Learn, And Grow (Advent 9)

“And they were baptized by him in the River Jordan, confessing their sins.” - Matthew 3:6

Confessing one’s faults, mistakes, and shortcomings isn’t about blame and shame. It’s not about making oneself feel guilty. It’s certainly not about pointing out flaws in anyone other than ourselves.

Baptism represents a person’s desire, commitment, and determination to make a new start, putting the old ways behind. Confession is a tool for understanding and acknowledging our mistakes, learning from them, and growing into better versions of ourselves.

I’ve been happily married going on 30 years now. But before that, I was previously married where we only lasted about nine months before we permanently separated. At the time, in my mind all of her faults were on full display.

Then it occurred to me that even if I felt like she was 80-90 percent responsible for our problems, I still had 10-20 percent of the blame. And if I didn’t fix my part of the problem, I would carry that same dysfunction into a new relationship.

I needed to be a better communicator, speaking the truth in love and gentleness. I needed to be a better listener, not so defensive and quick to feel attacked. I needed to prioritize the health of the relationship over my timeline for achieving our goals which were mostly mine in the first place.

Confessing all this to myself and God was an essential step in my journey to growth.

I’m Horace McMillon. This is 60 Seconds of Hope. Peace be with you.

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How Do We Prepare The Way? (Advent 8)

“This is the one of whom the prophet Isaiah spoke when he said, "The voice of one crying out in the wilderness: 'Prepare the way of the Lord; make his paths straight.'" - Matthew 3:3 quoting Isaiah

After we repent, after we change or focus and direction, we have a role to play. We have been called to prepare the way of The Lord. We make it easier for folks to find and follow their pathways. How do we do this?

First, we root and ground ourselves in love. We allow our minds to be perpetually renewed as we practice a new way of thinking about the world. We allow our lives to become living sacrifices.

We do this by offering hope to others. A person without hope is a danger to themselves and everyone else. A person who doesn’t believe that things can get better, will accept the unacceptable and even participate in destroying themselves and the people around them.

The way things are for us as individuals and as communities is not the way they have to be. God has shown us a different way to live. Our job is to embrace it and help others to do the same.

I’m Horace McMillon. This is 60 Seconds of Hope. Peace be with you.

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